Complaints handling policy

Napthens LLP

Complaints handling policy

We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service for all our clients and we pride ourselves on our thorough and professional approach to our work.

The following procedure informs you of the way client complaints are handled by us, so that you know what happens. Should something go wrong, we do need you to tell us about this as this will help us to improve our service standards.

If your query is in relation to a bill, we ask that you inform us within one month of receiving the bill.

Complaints procedure
Please let us have details of any complaint in writing, setting out your concerns in detail. This will help us to ensure that we fully understand your complaint and can respond to your concerns.

If you wish to raise a complaint with us, please email Complaints@napthens.co.uk. Alternatively, you can write to us at Napthens LLP, 7 Winckley Square, Preston PR1 3JD, addressing your letter to the Complaints team.

1. Once we have received your complaint, we will send you a written acknowledgement within 5 working days (i.e. excluding weekends and Bank Holidays) of receiving it. We will send you a copy of this procedure. We will also record your complaint in our central register and open a case in our case management system.
2. We will then investigate your complaint. This may involve, asking you for more information, or to let us know how you would like us to resolve your complaint. We may, if we think it appropriate or necessary, within 10 working days of acknowledging your complaint invite you to a meeting to discuss your concerns with us.
3. We will send you a written reply to your complaint within 21 working days of acknowledging it, or within 10 working days of any meeting. If we are unable to respond to you within that time, we will let you know, and will
explain why this is. The person with overall responsibility for managing complaints is the Head of Client Resolution, Richard McDowell, but Nabila Pervaiz, Complaints Executive, also works in the team, and she will often have day to day conduct of individual cases.

If, once you have received our response, you are still not satisfied, you can contact the Legal Ombudsman about your complaint. The Legal Ombudsman does set certain restrictions on the complaints which can be considered, and any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within:
 6 months of the date of our final response to your complaint; and
 One year from the date of the relevant act/omission; or
 One year from when you should reasonably have known there was a cause
for complaint.

We hope that this will not be necessary, but the Legal Ombudsman can be contacted by:
Telephone: 0300 5550 333
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Post: PO Box 6167 Slough SL1 0EH

Please note that the Legal Ombudsman deals with concerns about the level of service received. Where there are more serious concerns that a solicitor or the solicitor’s firm have been involved in professional misconduct then a report can also be made to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the regulator of solicitors and solicitor firms. This could be for quite unusual and serious acts of misconduct such as dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic. Obviously, we do not anticipate any such problems arising and would ask that you notify the matter supervisor, or the Complaints team immediately if you have any such concerns. You can find out more about the Solicitors Regulation Authority including their contact details and
professional conduct rules on their website: www.sra.org.uk.

We are, of course, always glad to receive your comments on our service and to hear how you think we can improve it. Any complaint is taken seriously, and if you do make a complaint, please rest assured that it will be investigated thoroughly.